Making friends

The cats are getting used to Henry...kind of. At least they don't hide all the time like they used to. This is our cat Girlfriend, Henry calls her Lee lee.

The Easter Bunny came

Henry got some fun stuff from the EB (as my Dad calls it). Here he is checking out his Memory game which he is surprisingly good at for a 2 year old. We tried really hard to avoid candy because this kid is energetic enough without the sugar. A little bit did trickle in...and ended up at my work. My coworkers apparently love peeps.

Checking out the goods

{This photo cracks me up because it is photographic evidence that Henry smells everything. And you can tell by this picture that it isn't just a little sniff, it is the real deal.} {This photo cracks me up because it is photographic evidence that Henry is a ham. I made such a big deal about him not shoving the candy up his nose that he decided to have me take a photo of him putting it in his eye. "Yook Mama Yook. It's in Henmy's eye. Take a pitcure now Mama."}

The Hunt

Henry loved hunting for eggs. They were full of all kinds of good stuff, like different colored play dough and silly putty.

Henry + Rhonda

For Sally

In his Bolivia sweater from Aunt Annie and Uncle Sergio.

A few of Henry's latest and greatest:

"Yook Mama yook."
"Dat's incredible"
"I am trying to concentrate on my food"
"I love it!"

On a sunny spring day: SWING!

There is no denying

A toddler lives here

Sunshine

It feels like spring this weekend. The sun is shining and the air is a little damp. All that is missing is green leaves and flowers. Henry definitely made the most of the sunny weather.

"These go here"

The bushy eyebrows and big blue eyes lead us to believe that he is our kid....but the fact that he picks up everything and organizes it makes us wonder just a little ;)

Henry's H

Tonight Henry and I did a little coloring. We spent a lot of time drawing H's. After about 20 minutes I hopped up to check on the lasagna and Henry said "Yook Mama, yook. I made a Henry H." I ran over wondering how he could have made an H on his own. This is what he did. I thought it was so creative and just really cool. I must have made a big deal about it because Henry suggested that we take a picture of it.

Before bed he gathered his favorite toys together. He said "Mama. Let's take a picture of Henry and his friends." He is really getting the "Cheese" part down.

Bringing the Cheeze

This blog is half for you guys and half for us to record some of our special moments with Henry. This post is more about the latter, but you might it enjoy it also.

Last night, while we were rocking, Henry covered me up with his blanket, put a hand on each cheek, gave me a kiss on the lips and said, “You my best friend Mama.” Then he reached his arm around my side and started to rub the back of my arm. “Rub your back Mama?” “Yes,” I said “Thank you Henry. You are my best friend too.” “Okay Mama.”

Back seat driver and a new reading challenge

Henry has his colors down. He has even figured out white, a sort-of un-color, color. Pink seems to be his favorite, followed by orange and yellow. Understanding colors is great fun and has proven to be pretty useful with our most recent parenting challenge-the defiant 2 year old. I read a little about this age and in the end felt that the most useful advice I found for parents is to give your child lots of control by allowing them to make choices about things that are not serious so that when you have to tell them no or give them direction with the more serious stuff it is not such a stuggle. So, with this in mind Henry gets to pick his clothes, his shoes, which fruit to eat with breakfast, what books to read, what cup to drink out of... you get the idea. Henry knowing his colors has helped us with this endeavor. Do you want the blue cup or the green cup? Orange jacket or blue one? Sure he ends up wearing some crazy outfits (and rain boots on the driest days) but we don't mind. With his new knowledge he has also become a little bit of a back seat driver. "Green light Mama. GO!" "Red light Red light!!! STOP!" On Sunday we incorporated it into a game. We were cars driving around the house, honking and “Going way too fast Mama”..well that is until someone yells Red Light. The game was such a hit that we have played it every night since. Wade tried to include Yellow Light last night but Henry didn't quite get it. I'm sure we will try again tonight.

Henry also has started recognizing letters. Yesterday on the drive to my Mom's was passed several hospital signs (Blue square with a big H in the center) and Henry called out "Mama Look Henry's H". He also knows "Papa's P" and "Mama's M" and W. The challege now is trying to read stories to him because he is constantly searching for letters he recognizes. He pulls the book right up to his face and says "Where Henry H Mama?" or "Two W right der." Last night it took over an hour for us to read 6 books and he didn't get to bed until after 9:00. Tonight I think we will let him pick only 3 books and shoot for 8:30.

Um?

On Friday Henry told me that he didn't have to take a nap because he is a big boy. "Henry a big boy. Big boys do not go night night when the sun is up." He said.
Last night Henry told me that he did not have to pick up his toys because he is just a very little boy. "I a very little boy. Do not have to pick up."

Henrytine

I put him in his valentine PJ's and said "Let's take your picture in your heart jammie's" Henry said "Wait Mama. I get my bear with the heart jammies too."

Tory time

Henry telling the story of the 3 little pigs

Once pon a time there 3 little pigs.
Build a house of straw.
And the wolf came.
And blow house down.
{Huff huff huff big blow}
House of sticks.
And the wolf came.
Blow house down
{Huff huff huff big blow}
And stones
And the wolf came.
Blow house down.
{Huff huff huff big blow}
He could not blow down the house.
Henry, what happened to the pigs?
They go into the forest.

I recorded him telling this story but cannot figure out how to post a .wav file on the blog. If you want to hear Henry's version let me know an I will email it to you.

Even with slippery boots

Here he is riding his bike. I love that he stops half way through to point out where he is going. What you don't know since the video has no volume is that he is telling me the whole time that he is going to ride his bike "down dere". I guess that just telling me wasn't enough, he had to point it out. Wade and I call that a little bit of baby OCD. ;)

More of the same

So last week I wrote a post about Henry doing two new things-using the potty and peddling his bike. Well, he been working on both of those activities this weekend and this time I grabbed the camera.

He has already gotten into the habit of taking something to "read" with him when he uses the potty...And yes, the pottty is in his bedroom. This was recommended to us by our pediatrician and it has really helped him get comfortable with using it.
It has been bitterly cold this past week so when we woke up today and saw some sunshine we were determined to go outside no matter what. I also took a video of him riding his bike, I'll post it next.

Quite Literally

E: Henry you are a smart cookie.
H: I am not a cookie. I am a boy. A big boy.